


Birthday Twins

by alisha_winchester_collins



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M, Flash Forward, Friendship, Skoulson Established Relationship, St. Agnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-03-23 11:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3767230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alisha_winchester_collins/pseuds/alisha_winchester_collins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When she meets someone new at St. Agnes on her return to the orphanage, Skye gains more than just a new name, she has a new friend, Matt and a new birthday too. Matt/Skye friendship one shot!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Twins

It had been two years since Stick had left, two years since he had returned to St. Agnes, two years since he continued to train quietly in the silence of his bedroom at night when all the nuns were asleep; he couldn't fight, but that never stopped him from focusing on strengthening his senses like he'd been taught. All the other kids avoided him as they always had done; sometimes whispering softly, as he walked through the corridors with his red glasses on, about 'the blind kid' but not all of them stopping to push him around anymore and he was grateful for that. Matt was content to be alone, he knew that none of these kids would ever truly know him and try to be his friend and he didn't attempt to make friends himself either, but that changed one summer afternoon.

As was the rule of St. Agnes, all the children were allowed to play outdoors in the gardens for an hour everyday after lunch. Matt had finished his meal and was walking down the corridors when he heard something that caught his attention; two nuns were talking in hushed whispers about one of the girls who had been adopted only recently by a family, the Brody's, but apparently she was sent back to the orphanage this morning. He wasn't sure why he stopped to overhear this conversation but by the time he reached outside, Matt soon forgot about it as he made his way across the grounds, away from the laughter and screams of the kids who were playing with each other. His idea of spending this time in the open air was to meditate in peace, the only way for him to do that was to walk towards a deserted and secluded area behind the orphanage where the remnants of a much smaller playground still stood - a pair of swings, a seesaw and a slide; the swings were his safe place to be. However, once he reached there, Matt sensed that he wasn't alone today.

Someone, a girl who was possibly younger than him, was sitting on a swing and crying softly; he could hear her sniffles as she took deep shuddering breaths and clutched the chains with both hands, her hair covered most of her face but before Matt could do anything, she seemed to have sensed his presence for he heard a soft gasp and guessed that she had looked up to see him standing there.

"W... who... who are you?" Her voice was soft and sad, but there was also a hint of something else that Matt could make out and it made him curious enough to stay.

"I'm Matt. Matthew Murdock." He replied as he walked closer to the girl, "May I join you?" Matt asked her, indicating to the free swing by the girl's side.

"Okay." She didn't say anything else but watched with wide eyes as the boy in front of her walked over to the swing as easily as possible; she had noticed the glasses and stick he used, but remained quiet.

In a few minutes, Matt was seated next to the girl on the swing, his long legs stretched out on the grass as he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket; one of the things he'd learned from his father. He handed it to the girl, who took it from him and mumbled a thanks.

"Are you alright?" There was a slight tension in the air around them, Matt knew that he didn't even know what to call her, but there was a chance he already knew who she was. "You're Mary... aren't you?" He remembered the nuns talk from a little while ago and the name of that girl they had been discussing.

"My name's Skye. Not Mary Sue, I choose my own name." The girl, Skye glanced in his direction and that's when Matt realized what he had heard in her voice; strength. No matter how she was feeling, Skye sounded strong and he admired that about her.

"It's nice to meet you Skye." Matt could feel a smile forming across his own face and knew that Skye was smiling too.

"It's nice to meet you too, Matt." She couldn't help but feel a slight blush creeping up her cheeks, Matt seemed to be older than her, maybe 12 or 13, his brown hair was messy and when she saw him smile, Skye thought there was a hint of a dimple which made him look cute. "Wait, how did you know my name?" The nuns were the only people who continued to call her Mary, all the other kids had been told of her new name when she had returned back to St. Agnes but she hadn't met Matt until just now.

"I heard Sister Josephine talking to Sister Tabitha about... about you... coming back here, from a foster home." He may not have been able to see her features, but Matt could safely assume that Skye was definitely one of the more likely children to be adopted.

From these last few minutes of sitting with her, he could tell that she was a confident, outspoken, determined young girl who didn't act like the other girls around. And she was kind enough not to ask questions about his blindness or maybe she didn't care either way.

"Yeah, I got sent back. Good for me." Skye sat up straight and wiped away the last of her tears, "That is not why I was crying." She added as an afterthought, wondering why she was telling Matt so much; perhaps it was because he seemed to really care.

"I never said it was." Matt was grinning now, Skye had proved to be a unique person he hadn't come across in a long time and he felt glad to have sat down when he did.

"Okay, good." In spite of feeling unusually calm around Matt, Skye hesitated, unsure of what to say next. "That's good." She didn't quite know how to tell him the real reason behind her tears and she certainly didn't know him well enough to guess whether or not he would laugh at her when she did; he didn't seem like any of the boys who would laugh though.

It appeared that Matt understood Skye's sudden pause in their conversation because he turned his head just a little to look up at the sky and listen to the noises around him for a little while; either Skye would give in and talk to him or she would get up and walk away, but Matt had a feeling she might choose the former option and he was more than happy to wait with her until she was ready to talk.

"Do... do you know when your birthday is Matt?" Her voice had turned soft again as Skye finally spoke up a few minutes later.

"Of course I do." His reply was almost instant that Matt didn't pick up on Skye's reaction until he heard her sigh deeply and turn away from him as the swing creaked.

"Oh." Skye whispered now and she started to get up but was surprised when she felt a warm hand on her wrist; Matt had stopped her.

She didn't know that Matt was equally surprised at himself. He never thought there would come a time when he would do something like this, but when Skye sounded as if she was on the verge of tears again and knew what it was about, Matt wanted to help her somehow.

"You don't know when your birthday is?" Matt posed the question to Skye as he sensed her sitting back down, but neither of them did anything to move his hand away from hers.

Skye simply shook her head and then realized what she had done. "Sorry, I... I just shook my head. I forgot..." She started to say, but Matt interrupted her midsentence.

"That's okay... you didn't answer my question Skye." He didn't mention to her that he could tell when she shook her head, because it wasn't important right now.

"No. I don't know when my birthday is." She turned her attention to Matt's hand on her wrist and wondered if she should pull back, "I know it sounds silly," Skye continued talking, "A silly thing to be crying over... but... I just... I don't want my birthday to be the day I came here to St. Agnes, that is not when I was born. I don't even know if my real name is Mary Sue or not, I don't like it." By the end of her explanation, Skye decided not to let go of Matt's hold.

He was listening to her patiently and when she was done, there was only one thing that Matt could say; he had an idea in mind but wanted to wait for the right moment to tell Skye about what he just thought of.

"You chose a new name for yourself didn't you?" Matt said to her, "So why not choose a new birthday if you don't like the date that's been chosen for you?" He knew it wasn't really as simple as that, but this was a start.

"Choose my own birthday?" Skye repeated his words as she thought about it, "That is a good idea, but I don't know what would work. I mean, I don't want my birthday to be the same as any holiday, I don't like that idea... being a Christmas kid or a New Year's kid." She made a face at the prospect of changing her birthday to one of those days.

"Well... what sounds like a good idea for a new birthday to you?" He was going to help Skye find the right date.

"I don't know, something in the summer maybe. I like this time of the year." There weren't many holidays during this season and maybe this month itself was a good choice, but before she could think of anything else, Skye had a better idea. "Why don't you choose a date for my new birthday?" She asked Matt, hoping it didn't sound silly.

"Me? Choose your birthday?" Matt was a little surprised to hear Skye's request, but he reassured her with a smile, "Okay. I can do that for you." This was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. "Meet me here tomorrow. Same time, same place?" He asked her.

"You'll tell me tomorrow?" Skye guessed that he needed one day to think of the perfect birthday for her and she was happy to hear that.

"Just be here on time." He didn't want to ruin the surprise for her and also chose not to mention one little detail about the importance of tomorrow just yet.

"Okay. I'll be here. Same time, same place." Standing up again, Skye waited until Matt had grabbed his cane as he finally let go of her hand and within minutes, the two of them started walking back towards their respective dormitories as their break time was about to end.

* * *

 

What Matt didn't anticipate was that Skye would find out the truth about the next day; he couldn't have known that Skye had a habit of eavesdropping on the nuns after dinner sometimes and hear them discuss which kid's birthday was coming up amongst other things. And so, when Matt met her the next afternoon by the swings with a small surprise for Skye, he was intrigued by what seemed to be a surprise that she had brought along too.

"Happy Birthday Matt." Skye was full of smiles when she revealed her gift to him, a slice of chocolate cake. "I heard Sister Josephine last night, you didn't tell me that today is your birthday!" She exclaimed as she placed the cake between them.

"That's because I wanted you to have a birthday without any distractions." Matt explained himself as he showed Skye what he had got for her, "Happy Birthday to you Skye." His gift was a bunch of daisies which he had picked this morning before breakfast.

"Oh! Wow. These are so pretty!" Barely registering what he had said to her, Skye accepted the flowers from Matt and smiled at the sweet scent, "Thank you Matt." She sat down on her swing as she had the day before and when she finally processed his words, she was confused.

"Is everything okay Skye?" He looked at her and detected a hint of sadness.

"Why did you choose your birthday as my new birthday?" Skye was still young, she knew that, but there was something about Matt today that she could clearly see; he may have been wearing his glasses, but acting on her hunch, Skye reached out a hand to touch his cheek and gently removed them.

"What... what do you mean why?" Matt was well aware that she now held his glasses and even though he didn't get mad at her for doing so, he suddenly thought it was best if he left.

"You could have picked yesterday as my birthday or tomorrow or next week or next month, why did you pick today?" She asked him.

They had known each other for barely a day and already Matt felt as if he had found a friend in Skye, but he didn't want her to treat him like everyone else at the orphanage did.

"I... I wanted... someone to be happy today. Anyone, really." He said at last.

"Why?" Skye heard what Matt was telling her but she couldn't understand why he wasn't happy on his own birthday. "Are you not happy today?" She could see his eyes, brown just like hers and filled with emotions just like hers.

"I am. I'm happy that you have a new birthday to celebrate today." Matt knew he was avoiding the question, but he didn't have the heart to tell Skye the truth. This was supposed to be her special day, the flowers and the cake were for her, even if she had brought the cake for him.

"That's not what I'm asking Matt." It was clear to her that something was wrong and she wanted to help Matt just as he had helped her.

"I know." He sighed deeply as he faced Skye, ready to tell her the truth; he knew that she wouldn't stop asking him until he explained himself. "I just... it's one thing to know your birthday, but another to celebrate it. I... I don't have anyone to celebrate my birthday with. Not since a long time." Matt finally managed to get the words out.

He could clearly remember the last time he had celebrated his birthday; the last birthday he'd spent with his dad, the last time he'd really been excited about turning a year older, getting to eat cake and open his presents, but that was a time Matt knew was gone and would never come again. He thought that if Skye could have that feeling today, it would be enough to know someone else was happy and he would be happy for her too.

Skye had been stunned to hear that in all these years of being at St. Agnes, even if she never knew when she was really born, there was always someone who brought her cake, someone who gave her a gift, someone who sat with her at breakfast, lunch and dinner, but Matt... he'd been alone. And so, she did the one thing she could do, she flung her arms around his neck and stood on her toes to hug him tight.

"You're not alone Matt, not anymore." Skye had found a friend in him and as his friend, she would make sure that he never had to celebrate his birthday alone, ever again.

"Skye?" He was surprised to feel her hugging him, it had caught him off-guard; Skye was the one person who didn't care about his condition or his solitude, she just wanted to be there for him just like his dad had been; and though he was scared, in that moment, Matt simply chose to be there for Skye as he hugged her back.

"I promise to always be there for your birthday Matt. For as long as we're friends." It was a simple thing to say and meant as much to Skye as it did to Matt.

"And I promise to be there for your birthday too Skye." He repeated the words back to her; they may have the next several years together or maybe they would be separated as soon as tomorrow, but for now, Matt knew this was enough.

 

**~ 15 Years Later ~**

 

The streets of Hell's Kitchen were bustling with it's usual crowds of people as the afternoon rush hour began to reach it's height, cars were backed up in long traffic delays, vendors were selling hot dogs and pretzels from their stalls on the sidewalk, tourists were swarming around in groups, and the locals all walked as they talked on their phones, heading to work or for lunch or a meeting. In the midst of everything, Matt Murdock was going about his daily routine of taking a walk between work hours with Foggy and Karen. The two had invited him to lunch at the new deli which had opened up near their office, and he had agreed to meet them directly at the restaurant, mentioning an important errand he needed to finish up. They didn't know what it was but didn't ask, Foggy usually had his methods of finding out, but this time Matt had told his best friend that it was personal.

He knew it was silly, but nostalgia always found it's way back to him at this time of the year, and though things had changed drastically, Matt was a creature of habit, especially when it came to this. He didn't know why he never mentioned it to Foggy or even Karen, but the idea of them knowing that he was on his way to the florist was something he kept to himself. Even though it had been... ten, maybe twelve years since he had last seen her, Matt never broke his promise to that little girl he had met at St. Agnes; they may have lost touch, with no way of finding each other, or maybe she'd forgotten him; but every year on the day before his birthday, Matt would buy a bouquet of flowers and keep it in his apartment as a reminder of a friendship long past, but never forgotten, not for him.

There was only a block left before Matt would reach his destination, but just as he crossed the signal between 41st and 9th, a familiar sensation made him stop in his tracks; he had heard a woman's laugh which was followed by the smell of flowers, heading his way.

"Daisies." He would recognize that scent anywhere as he reached a hand out to grab hold of the woman's wrist.

"Wha...?" The voice of a young woman was surprised as she turned around to see who had dared to touch her in the middle of the street, "Oh my god!" She exclaimed, " _ Matty _ ? Is that you?" It was none other than Skye.

"Hello Skye." Matt smiled once he heard Skye's voice, it was unexpected to find her here in Hell's Kitchen of all places since they hadn't seen each other in over a decade but the moment he'd hoped that the woman was her, Matt took the chance that he wasn't mistaken and stopped her.

"It _is_ you!" Skye laughed as she hugged him tight, not caring that they were standing in the middle of a busy street.

"Do you know any other blind guys called Matt?" The fact that Skye was really here on this day seemed nothing short of a miracle to him.

"True, you got me there." It was so random for her to have met him just like that in Manhattan, but she couldn't have been more happier to see Matt. "Oh god, it is so great to see you Matty! How are you? You look good!" She rattled off, unable to stop smiling.

"I'm good Skye, thanks." He started to say, "How are you?" There was something different about her, Matt could sense as much, she seemed happier now, but didn't know why just yet.

"Good good, I've missed you so much!" Skye couldn't help but hug Matt again, "What are you up to these days? Tell me everything!" She demanded to know.

"There's not much to say, I went to college after I left St. Agnes, Columbia University. Got a law degree and I have my own law firm now, Nelson and Murdock." He knew that this wasn't the right time to tell her about his extracurricular activities every night.

"Wow! A lawyer? Look at you Mr. Matthew Murdock, that's amazing! I'm happy for you." Beaming brightly, Skye playfully punched his arm.

"And what about you Skye? How's everything with you?" Matt was curious to know if there was something other than her meeting him which had Skye so happy.

"I'm good, really good. Long story short, I started working with S.H.I.E.L.D. about a year ago after everything that happened and I'm now an official agent." Skye wondered if she would get a chance to talk to Matt about all the things they'd missed out on in each other's lives, but time was short for her at the moment.

"Wow. An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. huh? You? That's good. It is good right?" He did believe that this was a part of Skye's happiness and was happy too, she sounded as if she had finally found a family she belonged to and that's all he had ever wanted for her.

"Yes, it is. I've traveled the world and seen things you wouldn't even believe!" She started to say before stopping herself abruptly, "Oh, silly me, I totally forgot to introduce you to someone important." Skye turned around as she spotted who she was looking for a little further down the street on the phone. "A.C!" Matt heard her call out.

He waited patiently as Skye bounced on her toes, this was probably the person who was responsible for his childhood friend being so happy; within a few minutes, Matt found himself shaking hands with the man Skye had called 'A.C.' who introduced himself as Agent Phil Coulson.

"It's nice to meet an old friend of Skye's, how do you know each other?" Coulson asked Matt, as he glanced at Skye who seemed ecstatic at this point.

"We were together at St. Agnes many years ago, Skye was my only friend and we spent a few years there before going our own separate ways." Matt explained, knowing that Skye probably didn't talk about her time at the orphanage to a lot of people.

"Well I'm glad that she's met you after all this time." Coulson said to Matt and Skye, who spoke up just then.

"So I'll be in Manhattan for the weekend, we should totally meet up soon. What do you say Matt?" She asked, linking her arm through his.

"Sure, just tell me when and where, I can pick you up?" Matt glanced towards Coulson, "Would you like to join us Agent Coulson?" He had a vague feeling about Skye and Coulson, but didn't want to suddenly spring the question on them without having spoken to Skye first.

"Call me Phil, and I wouldn't mind joining you but unfortunately we're on a time crunch. Maybe the next trip we make to New York?" Matt wasn't entirely sure if Coulson really couldn't make it, this was a first, but he assumed that Coulson probably wanted Skye to spend her free time with him as they caught up on old times.

"I'll hold you to that Phil." Skye chimed in before Matt could say anything and that was all he needed to be sure. "Why don't you pick the restaurant Matt? I'm sure you know what's good around here." She said to Matt.

"Sure, will do." If they were going to meet up the next night then it really would be perfect, "How does tomorrow at 7 sound?" He asked her.

"Sounds good to me." Before she left, Skye gave Matt one last hug. "And don't forget the daisies!" She reminded him.

"And you don't forget the slice of chocolate cake." Matt told her in return as he remembered their tradition all too well like it was only yesterday.

"Happy Birthday in advance Matt." Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, Skye said goodbye as she went her way with Coulson, holding hands together, if Matt wasn't mistaken.

"Happy Birthday to you too Skye." He smiled to himself as he turned to head for the florist, still in hearing distance of the pair and listened as Skye talked about him to Coulson.

_"Matt was the first friend that I made at St. Agnes when I was 9 and we spent our birthday's together every year until I was 14. I never knew when my birthday was, and he gave me the idea to celebrate it on the same day as his." Skye told Coulson the quick and short version of her friendship with Matt._

_"So... you two are birthday twins essentially. Same day, even if it's not the same year." Coulson replied as he listened patiently to Skye talk._

_"Huh, I never thought about it like that... but yeah, I guess we are." She agreed with him._

Matt realized that he also had never thought about it in this way, but as he walked in the other direction and repeated what Agent Coulson had said about him and Skye being birthday twins, the idea of that kept a smile on his face for the rest of his day.

 


End file.
